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Asthma and exercise

Hi all, so I just have a few questions about exercise and asthma if anyone can help.

I am on inhalers for my asthma and I'm pretty overweight so I want to loose about 4 stone to get me back down to healthier weight. How would it be to best proceed with cardio training with asthma? I am pretty unfit to be fair and I just want to make sure I do it the right way so I don't put myself of doing it.

Also if anyone knows how long until you start to notice improved fitness after starting doing cardio exercises that would be great.

Many thanks

Replies

  • Megan_smartiepants1970
    Megan_smartiepants1970 Posts: 44,609 Member
    I too have asthma and have an inhaler...Also very overweight... I have struggled to get back on the weight loss train since I had my 2nd hernia in April of this year ....I started out very slow like 5 minute increments thru out the day until I was able to do 30 minutes at once ... Now I can walk over 2 hours ...wishing you the very best :)
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,138 Member
    ^^ Starting off slow and building slowly is good advice.

    Consulting the doctor who treats you for your asthma would be a good idea, too.

    Best of luck.
  • jmf552
    jmf552 Posts: 47 Member
    None of the following is medical advice. You need to talk with your doctor about what would work for you.

    I am just describing what regimen my pulmonologist has me on. I use a nebulizer with Albuterol Sulfate. I don't need it very often, but if my symptoms are acting up or I am about to do some challenging exercise, I use it for about 15 minutes. It works like a "super rescue inhaler" and totally opens up my airways. It is much more powerful than a standard inhaler. I also use a prescription steroid inhaler (Symbicort, but there are others), that seems to reduce my need for my inhaler and nebulizer. In addition, I take prescription Zafirkulast (Accolate) tablets twice a day.

    I do very vigorous cardio four or five times a week and my asthma does not hold me back.
  • NVintage
    NVintage Posts: 1,463 Member
    Do you have an indoor facility, like a mall, in your area where you can just start with walking? I was part of a research experiment some years back where we had a DEXA scan before walking so many hours per week (2-3 I think)and then another scan after 2or 3 months. I purposely didn't change my eating habits. At the end, I weighed exactly the same, but the fat distribution was healthier with less around my waist.